Method and apparatus for managing electronic money and storage for storing an electronic money management program

• US 6,487,542 B2
• Filed: 08/12/1998
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamada, Hiroshi, Ito, Hiromichi, Saito, Masato, Ebata, Tomoichi, Kamata, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough, Hyung-Sub
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, Calvin L
• Application Number:
  US09/132,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20020095370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,567 Days
• Field of Search: 705/21, 705/39, 705/41, 705/42, 705/64, 705/68, 705/69, 705/70, 705/35, 235/375, 235/380, 235/381, 235/379, 235/487
• US Class Current: 705/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

According to the present invention, when electronic money is sent from a given network to another network, a money change apparatus performs a money change process to change electronic money current on the given network into electronic money current on another network, and therefore when a user of the given network uses a settling process, by managing this money change process, it is possible to manage the interchange of electronic money between each of the users of the given network and each of the users of another network without affecting the working environment of electronic commerce. Electronic money current on LAN20 is referred to as local electronic money current only on the network. When a terminal NLU4 connected to LAN20 sends money to a terminal NWU2 connected to WAN10, GW1 for controlling the flow of data between LAN20 and WAN10 receives local electronic money sent from the terminal NLU4, changes the local electronic money into electronic money current on WAN10, then sends the electronic money to the terminal NWU2, and when a terminal NWU2 sends money to a terminal NLU4, GW1 receives electronic money sent from the terminal NWU2, changes the electronic money into local electronic money and sends the local electronic money to the terminal NLU4.

Claims

1. An electronic money management method employing an electronic money digital cash system, said method employing:

local electronic money usable on a LAN which employs a same currency as wide electronic money usable on a WAN, said local electronic money being usable only within an organization in which said LAN is operable;

a network device, connected to said LAN and said WAN, for mediating electronic money transactions between a terminal connected to said LAN and a terminal connected to said WAN, said network device carrying out the jobs of;

as a first job, receiving from said LAN said local electronic money encrypted by an encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said WAN, decrypting said local electronic money by a decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said local electronic money, requesting issuance of said wide electronic money in the same amount as said local electronic money thus received to an issue server connected to said WAN, and upon receipt of said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device from said issue server, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, erasing said local electronic money thus received, and encrypting said wide electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received to transmit said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received through said WAN; and

as second job, receiving from said WAN said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said LAN, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, encrypting said wide electronic money thus decrypted by an encryption key of a receiving server connected to said WAN, transmitting said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said receiving server, and upon receipt of acknowledge from said receiving server as to receipt of said wide electronic money, generating said local electronic money in the same amount as said wide electronic money, and encrypting said local electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received to transmit said local electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received through said LAN.

2. An electronic money managing method according to claim 1, wherein:

said issue server and said receiving server is a server of a bank that has an account of said organization in which said LAN is operable;

said issue server subtracts the same amount of money as said wide electronic money transmitted to said network device from said account of said organization; and

said receiving server adds the same amount of money as said wide electronic money received from said network device to said account of said organization.

3. An electronic money managing method according to claim 1, wherein:

histories as to erasing of said local electronic money and transmission of said wide electronic money carried out by said network device in said first job, and histories as to reception of said wide electronic money and generation of said local electronic money carried out by said network device in said second job, are stored in said network device.

4. An electronic money managing method according to claim 1, wherein:

in said first job, if the amount of said local electronic money received from said LAN whose destination terminal is the terminal connected to said WAN exceeds a predetermined amount allocated to a member of the terminal connected to said LAN, the received local electronic money is sent back to the terminal connected to said LAN which is a transmitting origin of said local electronic money, without making the request for issuance of said wide electronic money to said issue server connected to said WAN.

5. An electronic money managing method according to claim 4, wherein:

in said first job, when the amount of said local electronic money received from the LAN whose destination terminal is the terminal connected to said WAN exceeds a predetermined amount allocated to a member of the terminal connected to said LAN, and said local electronic money has a message that the member of the terminal connected to said LAN which was the transmitting origin of said local electronic money is allowed to transmit such an amount exceeding said predetermined amount allocated, making the request for issuance of said wide electronic money to said issue server connected to said WAN, then executing the additional first job procedures.

6. An electronic money management method according to claim 1, wherein:

said network device further carries out the job of;

as a third job, changing a combination of units comprising said local electronic money transmitted from said terminal connected to said LAN in accordance with instructions from said terminal connected to said LAN, and sending said electronic money thus changed back to said terminal.

7. An electronic money managing device for mediating electronic money transactions employing an electronic money digital cash system between a terminal connected to a LAN and a terminal connected to a WAN, said WAN on which wide electronic money flows, and said LAN on which local electronic money usable only within an organization in which said LAN is operable and having a same currency as said wide electronic money flows, said managing device comprising:

a first means for receiving from said LAN said local electronic money encrypted by an encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said WAN, decrypting said local electronic money by a decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said local electronic money, requesting issuance of said wide electronic money in the same amount as said local electronic money thus received to an issue server connected to said WAN, and upon receipt of said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device from said issue server, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, erasing said local electronic money thus received, and encrypting said wide electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received to transmit said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received through said WAN; and

a second means for receiving from said WAN said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said LAN, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, encrypting said wide electronic money thus decrypted by an encryption key of a receiving server connected to said WAN, transmitting said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said receiving server, and upon receipt of acknowledge from said receiving server as to receipt of said wide electronic money, generating said local electronic money in the same amount as said wide electronic money, and encrypting said local electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received to transmit said local electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received through said LAN.

8. An electronic money managing device according to claim 7, wherein:

said issue server and said receiving server is a server of a bank having an account of said organization in which said LAN is operable;

said issue server subtracts the same amount of money as said wide electronic money transmitted to said network device from said account of said organization; and

said receiving server adds the same amount of money as said wide electronic money received from said network device to said account of said organization.

9. An electronic money managing device according to claim 7, further comprising:

history recording means for recording histories as to erasing of said local electronic money and transmission of said wide electronic money carried by said first means, and histories as to reception of said wide electronic money and generation of said local electronic money carried by said second means.

10. An electronic money management device according to claim 7, wherein:

if the amount of said local electronic money received from said LAN whose destination terminal is the terminal connected to said WAN exceeds a predetermined amount allocated to a member of the terminal connected to said LAN, said first means sends the received local electronic money back to the terminal connected to said LAN which was a transmitting origin of said local electronic money without making the request for issuance of said wide electronic money to said issue server connected to said WAN.

11. An electronic money managing device according to claim 10, wherein:

when the amount of said local electronic money received from the LAN whose destination terminal is the terminal connected to said WAN exceeds a predetermined amount allocated to a member of the terminal connected to said LAN, if said local electronic money has a message that the member of the terminal connected to said LAN and being the transmitting origin of said local electronic money is allowed to transmit such an amount exceeding said predetermined amount allocated, said first means makes the request for issuance of said wide electronic money to said issue server connected to said WAN, then executes the additional first means procedures.

12. An electronic money managing device according to claim 7, further comprising:

changing means for changing a combination of units comprising said local electronic money transmitted from said terminal connected to said LAN in accordance with instructions from said terminal connected to said LAN, and sending said electronic money thus changed back to said terminal.

13. An information recording medium storing therein an electronic money managing program for mediating electronic money transactions employing an electronic money digital cash system between a terminal connected to a LAN and a terminal connected to a WAN, said WAN on which wide electronic money flows, and said LAN on which local electronic money usable only within an organization in which said LAN is operable and having the same currency as said wide electronic money flows, said electronic money managing program implementing the following means in an information processing device connected to said LAN and said WAN:

a first means for receiving from said LAN said local electronic money encrypted by an encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said WAN, decrypting said local electronic money by a decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said local electronic money, requesting issuance of said wide electronic money in the same amount as said local electronic money thus received to an issue server connected to said WAN, and upon receipt of said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device from said issue server, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, erasing said local electronic money thus received, and encrypting said wide electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received to transmit said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said local electronic money thus received through said WAN; and

a second means for receiving from said WAN said wide electronic money encrypted by said encryption key of said network device whose destination terminal is a terminal connected to said LAN, decrypting said wide electronic money by said decryption key of said network device to confirm the amount of said wide electronic money, encrypting said wide electronic money thus decrypted by an encryption key of a receiving server connected to said WAN, transmitting said wide electronic money thus encrypted to said receiving server, and upon receipt of acknowledge from said receiving server as to receipt of said wide electronic money, generating said local electronic money in the same amount as said wide electronic money, and encrypting said local electronic money by an encryption key of said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received to transmit said local electronic money thus encrypted to said destination terminal of said wide electronic money thus received through said LAN.